"So what is it about Dagestan?
The hardship? History of fighting? Warrior mentality? …. whatever it is, i don’t see it slowing down any time soon."

Ive trained with a number of guys from that area over the years and theres definitely something in the water.

Absurd joint/tendon/ligament integrity beyond any other normal group of people. Not sure if its innate or from certain training methods(yet most seem 25 years behind American trends and do mainly bodyweight and gymnastic type stuff)

Oh and they make you damn near kill them with a sunk sub to tap in training. Likewise they go 100% when they get you in one.

It doesent have to do with the region. It's like say people from Texas are better then people from the rest United States. They are all Russian. The two best Russian fighters are from Siberia area. Fedor and shlemenko

a few you missed off the top of my head, Sultan Aliev, Baga Agaev, Shamil Abdurahimov. There are def more

Good topic, Ive become very interested in this as well

Life in Dagestan can be pretty fucking rough I hear. Brutal Conditions, Conflict, Crime, Poverty etc. So that in itself tends to make one "harder". For those who are poor, uneducated, or involved in crime, I doubt there are many good opportunities to make a decent living. So that also would tend to lead some in the direction of a life in Sports. And its not only mma, but the majority of the best Russians wrestlers are also from Dagestan. Martial Arts seem to be very popular in that region, wrestling, sambo, combat sambo etc.

MMA is also starting to take off in Chechnya as there was/is a tournament in that region between all of the gyms. There are a few notable Chechyn fighters, Khalidov and Amagov. But obviously they are not as far along as Dagestan.

damn... i knew there was many more. We just had Rasul Mirzaev, Murad Machaev, Ali Baguatinov and Tukhugov at the gym with us and having spoken with Rasul alot he says they are just brought up hard, in a hard place that has been in constant conflict for many generations. (much the same as Chechyna) Just the Dagestan region already had a strong Sambo, Sanda, Kickboxing and wrestling ground-swell.Rasul also pointed out the so Russian people look down on the Dagestan people and this makes them want to succeed more.

I don't know why they want to succed more but certaimly not because of the way Russian people look down on the Dagestan people. That's some bullshit he told you.

i do believe SOME russians look down on Dagestani people.

1) different religion

2) Dageestan neighbours Chechyna and has been involved in war, terrorism and many political issues

The racist slavik Union certainly look down on the Dagestani.

So i think sure not ALL Russians - and maybe not yourself, but certainly there are many who do look down on Dagestani people.

Race? Race has nothing to do with it. There the same as other Russian. They are Akk Russian. The word is bigotry

It is the region, I'm afraid. The Dagestani peoples aren't ethnically Russian at all, they're actually closely related to the Georgians but were not granted independent states, they were forced to remain part of Russia. Millions of Muslim Caucasians were killed and exiled during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, relations with Russians remain bitter.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic village, for instance, is claimed by the Circassians to have been built on a mass grave site, Sochi being the former capital of Circassia before the expulsion of the Circassians from the region following the conquest.

I will back up megatherium. It has ALL to do with the region. I wish some Russian boys woke up and took up sports as serious as Dags, Ossetians etc. when I was a kid training in Moscow the kids in my class were predominantly Slavic. We did have Koreans, Germans, Georgians, Jews and Chechens if course but majority were Slavic. If you look at sambo 70 now you will see athletes from Kavkaz mostly. Which is great for them and shame on Slavs. Generally relations between nations are somewhat strained. However as a rule it doesn't affect athletes because training bonds. Also Fedora is NOT from Siberia. Born in Ukraine, now resides in European part if Russia. Siberia is in Asian sphere if Russian federation. I also see a lot of negativity regarding Sochi Olympics. It all stems from Adigs that live abroad. It looks like cercessians in Russia are down with Olympics

As I've said many times here, it is only a matter of time before Russia takes over MMA, and in particular few regions from there (and Dagestan in particular). I believe this is inevitable and the obvious is now starting.

Over the years I've trained judo/grappling/wrestling with people of many different nations.

I can honestly tell you what HELWIG said. If you speak of natural grappling / wrestling ability, mat stability, natural core strength, etc, those from Dagestan are the best. IMO, this is purely genetic, you cannot learn this.

It is not surprising to me that the best wrestlers in the world come from that region. Many of the Olympic and World champions you see are from that region, even when they don't compete for Russia.

If they make a Dagestan vs. World wrestling match, World will lose and it wouldn't even be close. They are THAT good.

Muslim Salihov another Dagestani fighter witha bright future.... not from a Sambo or wrestling background but actually Sanda/Kickboxing background.

his pro MMA debut will be in M-1 global

he is a former Sanda world champion and Kickboxing champion.

His style sure is exciting and im looking forward to seeing him in MMA

Salikhov known as "Kung-Fu King" will compete @ M-1 Challenge 38 on April, 9. It will be a huge event with M-1 HW Grand Prix quarterfinals and presentation of brand new Russian know-how - ring/cage hybrid called RAGE. Be sure to watch it American fellas!

judom - As I've said many times here, it is only a matter of time before Russia takes over MMA, and in particular few regions from there (and Dagestan in particular). I believe this is inevitable and the obvious is now starting.

Over the years I've trained judo/grappling/wrestling with people of many different nations.

I can honestly tell you what HELWIG said. If you speak of natural grappling / wrestling ability, mat stability, natural core strength, etc, those from Dagestan are the best. IMO, this is purely genetic, you cannot learn this.

It is not surprising to me that the best wrestlers in the world come from that region. Many of the Olympic and World champions you see are from that region, even when they don't compete for Russia.

If they make a Dagestan vs. World wrestling match, World will lose and it wouldn't even be close. They are THAT good.

For MMA, its only a matter of time.

You mean become a strong presence or take over? Take over as in have more top 10 guys and champs than the US or Brazil?

judom - As I've said many times here, it is only a matter of time before Russia takes over MMA, and in particular few regions from there (and Dagestan in particular). I believe this is inevitable and the obvious is now starting.

Over the years I've trained judo/grappling/wrestling with people of many different nations.

I can honestly tell you what HELWIG said. If you speak of natural grappling / wrestling ability, mat stability, natural core strength, etc, those from Dagestan are the best. IMO, this is purely genetic, you cannot learn this.

It is not surprising to me that the best wrestlers in the world come from that region. Many of the Olympic and World champions you see are from that region, even when they don't compete for Russia.

If they make a Dagestan vs. World wrestling match, World will lose and it wouldn't even be close. They are THAT good.

For MMA, its only a matter of time.

You mean become a strong presence or take over? Take over as in have more top 10 guys and champs than the US or Brazil?

Well they are taking over Bellator now as we speak. Look at Shlemenko - he's ridiculously small middleweight yet keeps crushing all of his opponents (except for Lombard but we have to see how's rematch going to play out) and he's not even from Dagestan!

It'll have to be leagues like Legacy, MFC, OneFC, etc to sign those talents. Because local mobs will want a shakedown of bigger leagues. Even then it's hard. You have to deal with a local crime lord or something. Such a waste of talent, rotting away because of failed ties. Basically the UFC will have to wait for someone from M-1 to defect and try and snag them. Or hope a Legacy or someone like that gets a contract and buy it up after it's done. Zuffa knows what kind of talents out there, they've talked about going to Russia. The problem like in Japan are the Russian Mobs. At least in Japan it's just one mob, the Yakuza.

Russia is has like territories ran by different crime lords/mob familes. And these kids coming up from that go no where without having the local mob get a piece of their action or contract for that matter.

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